


Comfort Food

by fivefootnothing



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-02-03
Updated: 2009-02-03
Packaged: 2017-10-23 19:30:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/254044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fivefootnothing/pseuds/fivefootnothing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It occurred to Nyssa late one evening within the TARDIS, after hours spent with Tegan and Adric (and the Doctor, to a somewhat diminished extent), that this must be what having siblings was like.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comfort Food

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a nearly throw-away line in the Big Finish audio Judgement at Isskar. No copyright infringement intended.

It occurred to Nyssa late one evening within the TARDIS, after hours spent with Tegan and Adric (and the Doctor, to a somewhat diminished extent), that this must be what having siblings was like.

She had parents. She proudly proclaimed that she had a mother and father who loved her unconditionally. But no one else shared in her parents's love for her, their devotion to her; no brothers or sisters were around to share her pretend adventures in the grove surrounding the palace. And once Nyssa's mother rejoined the Source and Lady Kassia took her place at Tremas's side, a tiny bit of Nyssa's world fell away.

That moment started the end of everything.

And yet, as she witnessed firsthand with the Doctor: the end of one thing always meant the beginning of another.

Though she lost her world through the machinations of the Master, though he stole her father's face and exploited her adoration of him, Nyssa still persevered. The last daughter of her homeworld, traveling with her adopted family.

In Tegan, despite their differences in upbringing, she believed she found her sister. Earth still seemed an exotic, faraway planet, filled with fascinating new experiences and alien people.

In Adric, a younger brother, as clever as she'd always wanted her brother to be.

And the Doctor?

Would Nyssa be trying to seek him out during the TARDIS's designated interior environmental sleep cycle if she hadn't already grown very fond of him?

She'd liked him before, of course. She thought it difficult _not_ to like the funny, curly-haired man with the wide, mad smile and incredibly lengthy scarf. The man strove to protect Traken from the very enemy who eventually killed him.

But now?

Now he felt even more like...family.

She found his new incarnation rather endearing. A kind, boyish face at the surface, wisdom and determination lurking just beneath. He seemed both eager to teach and willing to learn at the same time. The perfect older brother, then. A bit reckless at times, but always placing the needs of his companions well ahead of his own.

The Doctor was a study in contrasts, and that intrigued Nyssa to no end.

The TARDIS hallways all emanated that same gentle, inviting glow, but considerably dimmer now that the environmental cycle had clicked over to Late Night. Nyssa, her mind filled with Tegan's stories of the "Dreamtime," worried that any attempt at slumber would conjure up images of the Rainbow Serpent. So she took to wandering the TARDIS hallways, anxious to make good on the Doctor's open invitation to explore the old girl's many, many rooms.

She fleetingly caught the scent of something in the air. Warm and fragrant and enticing, like baking bread but somehow sweeter. Reminded of the Zero Room and how it smelled of roses, Nyssa resolved to discover the root of the alluring aroma. Roses, Tegan explained soon after they left Castrovalva, were flowers native to Earth, and they carried with them a variety of symbolic meanings. A bouquet of red roses meant love or romantic intent. And that, she thought, seemed rather odd, considering the Doctor appeared to not have a romantic sort of mind.

Well, he said he didn't know why the Zero Room smelled of roses. It may have been a decision of the TARDIS's.

A living machine. Nyssa likened it to the Source, and then sadness clenched at her briefly. She shook her head, brunette locks settling on her shoulders, and traversed on. Perhaps she'd discover the Doctor taking a respite from the clamor of a nearly-full TARDIS crew.

Nyssa tracked the aroma to where it seemed strongest, and she stood staring intently at the door, hesitating opening it. The door was shaped differently than the rest: not lined with the same perfectly round shapes which popped up over and over again on the corridor walls but holding a single round window just above her line of vision. A person would need to be the Doctor's height to peek through it comfortably.

She went for the doorknob but froze in confusion. No doorknob? And when she approached the door, it refused to open for her, so there wasn't a proximity detector set on it. She sighed, raised her hand, and knocked on the door. "Doctor?"

The door swung out at her touch, then quickly swiveled back into place. Was that a brief hint of beige amid the white of the room beyond? She shoved the door open again and entered.

The Doctor was sitting on the floor, the tails of his coat draped behind him. He had his arms wrapped around his bent legs in a loose hug, curling up to protect himself against the universe and seeking comfort in the warmth of his own touch.

She stayed near the door for a long while, taking in the details of the room. It reminded her of a kitchen, though far stranger than any kitchen she knew. For one thing, it held the same round paneling along the walls as in the rest of the TARDIS interior. There were counters and areas for preparing food. Perhaps a place where the fires for the cooking pots could be kept stoked. There were cupboards and another door which she assumed led to the pantry.

And the scents surrounding her! So tempting and delightful and so unlike the breads and sweets of Traken. She crossed her arms, not in a gesture of defensiveness but rather in the manner of a hug. The Zero Room had a peaceful aura emitting from within, but this place?

What was it about food which comforted so?

Then her eyes settled on the Doctor. Moments like this confused her, for she nearly lulled herself into thinking that the Doctor was simply a young man worrying about his friends, and not a centuries-old Time Lord still settling into his new incarnation.

She'd witnessed his transformation--

Regeneration, he'd correct, using that mildly admonishing tone which never stooped to rudeness.

The Time Lords of Gallifrey had a reputation for stodginess, for pomposity, and for splendor. And here was a member of that very ancient race, sitting on the kitchen floor, having a quiet sulk as if he'd been caught pilfering from the pantry. She couldn't quite view his face from this angle, but she could imagine it. How his eyes always seemed so sad, even when he smiled.

Especially when he smiled.

And he seemed to be staring intently at...at...a sort of box with a window at its front side.

"Doctor?" she said finally.

His answer came as an absent-sounding "...hmmmm?"

Nyssa settled into a crouch beside him, staring at the same strange box as he was. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting. They're nearly done. But I've already got my first go cooling on the tray."

"Have I dropped into the middle of something? For I've no idea what you're talking about."

He chuckled, lifting himself to his full height. He placed his hands on Nyssa's shoulders, giving her a fond squeeze. "Cacao," he whispered, his eyes widening as if bestowing a great secret. His body swaggered a bit, his grin self-satisfied.

"Is that another Earth flower?"

"Oh, much more than just a flower, Nyssa. A few civilizations of Earth so valued it that the beans it produced were used as currency, a commodity, something to be treasured."

"A gift."

"Exactly."

"It smells wonderful."

"It tastes even better." And with an enthusiastic bounce, he took something from a metal tray resting upon the counter and held it out to Nyssa. The thing was large, round, and tan, with chunks of dark brown peeking along its surface.

"What is it?" She took the thing, recognition dawning on her face. So this was the source of the scent!

"A chocolate chip cookie," he explained, taking one for himself. "The beans of the cacao plant are crushed and pressed, the resulting paste liquefied and blended with other ingredients to create a solid mass. That is chocolate, which humans decided would go marvelously well within a...a sort of flour-sugar-butter matrix."

"And I'm meant to eat it?"

"That...is what it's for, yes."

She took a single cautious bite, her teeth sinking softly into the cookie. Such flavors! Sweet and salty and bitter mixing together and creating something delightful. The chocolate bits were warm enough to actually melt as she chewed. "This is...this is...it...tickles."

"Tickles?"

"That same sort of pleasant, happy feeling. It tickles, right in the nose. Is that what chocolate does?"

"I've not heard it explained in quite the same manner, but it will do." He started on his cookie, humming his own pleasure. "There's nothing quite as satisfying as partaking in something you've baked," he added, munching through the cookie like an eager puppy going after a treat. A bell sounded and caught his attention. "Ah," he said, rubbing his hands together to rid his fingers of crumbs. "Second batch finally done." He used a tea towel to help bring out the second tray of cookies from the oven, placing the tray upon the counter.

"You're a cook." Nyssa said quietly, attempting not to sound too impressed with the revelation.

"One of my many hidden talents," the Doctor said with a faint, friendly grin. "You ought to see the speed of my googly."

"But you've made so many! Oh, I see. They're a peace offering."

"In a manner of speaking. Tegan's frustrated with not being able to return home succinctly and Adric, well... I disliked how we fell into arguing. One should never go to sleep angry. Or hungry. And to suffer through both seems dreadfully cruel."

"They'll love them." She already did. She'd finished off the first cookie and was tempted to reach for another.

She needn't have bothered; the Doctor already fetched two more cookies and wedged one in his own mouth before offering the second to Nyssa. "We'll need to wait a bit before this second batch has cooled enough to eat," he said, between chews. "But I think those," he indicated the first batch, "are ready."

"And these are from Earth?" Nyssa asked, fetching a spatula and transferring the cooled cookies from tray to plate.

"One of the finest culinary inventions in human history, don't you think?"

Nyssa wasn't sure as this was the only Earth food she'd tasted so far, but if all the dishes were just as delightful and pleasurable as this one, she didn't think she'd mind Earth very much at all. "They're rather good."

"A fine compliment, Nyssa. Thank you. Now to divide these up between the four of us."

"It'll take some maths skill."

"Ah." The Doctor nodded sagely, jaw set a little forwards as he considered. "We'll wake Adric first then, hmmm?"

"Adric first," she agreed with a grin, taking up the plate and following the Doctor out the door.


End file.
